Archives
 By  Staff Reports Published 
5:04 pm Friday, August 6, 2004

Some old, some new and some moved at Newton Co.

By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
Aug. 6, 2004
DECATUR While many of the same faces will be seen coaching at Newton County High School again this year, some have swapped sports and some newcomers have been added.
Jeff Breland returns for his sixth season as head football coach. His first five teams have won 52 games while losing only 11.
Also back are veteran assistants Mike Spence and Ben Kitchings. Newcomers are Kyle Watson, Jody Hawkins and student coach Curt Blackburn.
In slow-pitch softball, Justin Chaney moves from the football program to take over for 36-year veteran Mack Fanning, who retired following the 2003-04 school year. His assistant will be Steven Harris, who was also with the football program last year.
Newton County has brought in longtime girls basketball coach Willis Tullos to replace Natalie Vance.
Tullos was 224-24 with three state championships at Choctaw Central from 1994-2001. Tullos will also coach girls track.
Johnny Slaughter, the last remaining head coach when the school was founded in the fall of 1990, returns as the boys basketball coach.
Sidney Cook will coach both cross country teams along with the boys soccer squad. Chad Bond will coach girls soccer and tennis. Watson will coach boys track.
Track will be a new sport this spring as the school has a track around its football field but has yet to use it in an official capacity.
Chaney will also be the head coach in fast-pitch softball with Dustin McGee his assistant.
Wyatt Tullos returns as head baseball coach with Harris his assistant.
Kitchings will coach the golf team. Buffy Hale and Kristi Brown will coach the cheerleaders.

Also on Franklin County Times
Ex-day care owner faces 27-count indictment
Main, News, Russellville
Kevin Taylor For the FCT 
October 15, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — The former owner of a Red Bay day care center where a 4-month-old died in March 2022 is now facing a manslaughter charge after a Frankl...
AI policies stress proper use over prohibition
Main, News
Alyssa Sutherland For the FCT 
October 15, 2025
Sheffield City Schools’ policy regarding student use of artificial intelligence (AI) at the start of the 2025-26 school year limited the use of the so...
Faith, family and resilience are keys to cancer survival
Main, News, Phil Campbell, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
October 15, 2025
PHIL CAMPBELL — Ten years ago, Melissa Stancil faced a diagnosis that changed her life. Today, she’s not only a survivor of Stage 3 breast cancer but ...
Gilmer fulfills dream competing on ‘Jeopardy!’
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
October 15, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — Russellville native Slade Gilmer fulfilled a lifelong dream when he competed on “Jeopardy!” in an episode that aired Oct. 7. Gilmer liv...
Police among state’s first certified departments
News, Russellville, Z - News Main
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
October 15, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — The city’s Police Department is one of the first 12 departments to earn professional accreditation through the Alabama Association of C...
We must break China’s grip on defense supply chains
Columnists, Opinion
October 15, 2025
China’s Xi Jinping appeared supremely confident at a recent military parade in Beijing with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Xi’...
DKG international president visits Russellville
Columnists, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
October 15, 2025
When educators gather, there’s always something to learn, and this month our local Delta Kappa Gamma chapter, Alpha Upsilon, heard directly from the t...
More than laughs: Improvising for life’s situations
News
Chelsea Retherford For the FCT 
October 15, 2025
When most people hear the word “improv,” they might think of the quickwitted antics of “Whose Line is it Anyway?” But David Grissom, a veteran comedy ...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *